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The Knee Joint

The knee joint is the largest and most complex joint in the human body. It is a masterpiece of anatomical engineering. Placed midway down each supporting column of the body, it is subject to severe stresses and strains in its combined functions of weight bearing and locomotion. To take care of the weight-bearing stresses, it has massive condyles; to facilitate locomotion, it has a wide range of motion; to resist the lateral stresses due to the tremendous lever effect of the long femur and tibia, it is reinforced at the sides by strong ligaments; to combat the downward pull of gravity and to meet the demands of such violent locomotor activities as running and jumping, it is provided with powerful musculature. It would be difficult, indeed, to find a mechanism better adapted for meeting the combined requirements of stability and mobility than the knee joint.

Structure

Although the knee is classified as a hinge joint, its bony structure resembles two condyloid or ovoid joints lying side by side, yet not quite parallel (Figure 8.1). The lateral flexion permitted in a single ovoid joint is not possible in the knee joint because of the presence of the second condyle. The two rockerlike condyles of the femur rest on the two slightly concave ...